Waste deal to save £12m a year

Coun Amy Cross

A new deal over waste disposal operations will save Fylde residents more than £12m a year.

Chiefs at Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council have agreed a new deal on the commercial arrangements for their waste processing operations.

Under the new arrangements, the two councils have taken over ownership and responsibility for running two waste processing facilities at Thornton and Farington, which were introduced in response to the central government landfill tax.

It was designed to encourage councils to recycle more waste and send less to landfill.

The facilities were developed by Global Renewables Lancashire Limited (GRLL), who currently run the sites under a 25-year contract funded through the Private Finance Initiative.

By restructuring the financing for the sites, the councils say they will jointly save more than £12m per year over what would have been the remaining 22 years of the contract.

County Coun David Borrow, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “This agreement means both sites will continue to deliver a hugely important service for people across Lancashire, while the new funding arrangements contribute significantly to the £300m of savings the county council needs to make by 2017/18. It is a very good deal for the people of Lancashire.”

Coun Amy Cross, Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for streetscene and the environment, said: “In Blackpool, like in Lancashire, we are a proactive authority when it comes to recycling and disposing of our waste correctly.

“We’re pleased that this deal will allow us to maintain our current arrangements and continue to work towards improving recycling rates in the town.”